1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to the diagnosis of bone loss, more particularly, to a method of diagnosing osteoporosis, osteopenia and sarcopenia at an early stage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Osteoporosis is a pernicious disorder usually, but not exclusively, afflicting elderly women. The osteoporotic state can also be manifest by those who are confined to bed and even to astronauts who are subjected to weightlessness. Osteoporosis occurs through a decrease in bone mass which makes the afflicted bones more fragile and more susceptible to breaking.
The fractures resulting from osteoporosis can cause death, require extended hospital stays and sometimes involve expensive and painful surgery. Health care costs in this area range in the billions of dollars per year in the United States alone. In addition, osteoporosis severely diminishes the mobility and vitality of those afflicted with the disease.
The reduction in bone mass from osteoporosis results when destruction outpaces bone formation. The balance between destruction and formation is affected by hormones, calcium intake, vitamin D and its metabolites, weight, smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise and many other factors.
Osteoporosis is not easily determined in its early phases as physical deformity is not yet evident. Because osteoporosis develops progressively, early diagnosis and appropriate treatment may help to delay, if not avoid a serious condition. Appropriate diet and exercise can be used in early years to prevent the damaging effects of osteoporosis later in life. Methods for maintaining or promoting bone growth are described in numerous patents. For example, McLeod and Rubin, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,103,806, 5,191,880, 5,273,028 and 5,376,065 collectively describe non-pharmacological means and methods for promoting bone growth and preventing bone loss. The method described in the above referenced patents describes a mechanical vibrational loading of bones to promote growth in a non-invasive procedure. McLeod and Rubin, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,103,806, 5,191,880, 5,273,028 and 5,376,065 are all incorporated herein by reference.
The existing technology for predicting fracture risk and osteoporosis exposes the patient to cumulative doses of X-rays. The invasive nature of X-ray radiation is compounded by multiple exposures whenever the patient is to be reevaluated. Typical X-ray scanners are very expensive and require extensively trained technicians to operate. Further, these methods report only bone density, and do not directly indicate bone strength or tendency for bone loss.
Another method of diagnosing osteoporosis is to estimate bone mass through ultrasound velocity measurements. Unfortunately, these tests are limited to bones, such as the calcaneus and patella, which do not suffer from osteoporosis and are only weakly indicative of risk of fracture. Traditional bone mass measurements, by their very nature, are unable to predict bone loss prior to its occurrence and can only chart the course of bone loss over an extended period of time. Further, these diagnostics only consider bone mass, and fail to consider other factors such as tendency to fall, or ability to protect yourself during falling.
Since it is desirable to institute treatment for osteoporosis early on, a need exists for an inexpensive, non-invasive technique for diagnosing osteoporosis in its early stages.